5) Walk back and forth across the Pont Neuf wearing a scarf until no one can tell the difference between me and the real Parisians.

Since you can’t come along (tant pis), you can imagine your own fantasy holiday through the pages of these great Paris-themed reads (many a bit on the feminine side… but sorry boys, Paris is every girl’s dream).

It’s astonishing how fast kids get the idea that they are “bad at art.” In my opinion, school has a lot to do with this. It’s a shame that teachers have to grade art in the early elementary years, since I think that this is part of what ends up discouraging kids from experimenting and taking risks in art class. It doesn’t take much for a kid to judge themselves. I do not come from artistically-gifted parents, and in school I was never properly taught how to draw. So, I’ve always believed that I wasn’t good at art, in spite of the fact that I’ve never really tried to practice, and I certainly know from experience in music and writing that practice is at the heart of artistic development. I am intensely jealous and admiring of those with artistic talent, and I can’t help but feel a little miffed that I wasn’t given more encouragement to doodle, paint and play in art-land when I was young.

The long days of summer seem like the right time to help kids explore their hidden artist, and to experience some great works of art for the first time. This list has a sampling of some of the best (aka most fun!) books about making art, and some lovely books on art history, artists and art appreciation. Get messy! Get creative! (and no… this is not for marks…)

I regularly find myself tooting the horn of a “children’s” author, trying to convince anyone who’ll listen that x author’s latest book is every bit as good as the finest grown up fiction out there. But then sometimes a teenager wanders into the bookstore and has read anything and everything YA-like with a little Goose Girl and Catcher in the Rye and Kite Runner mixed in, and it is at that moment that I am grateful for our table of miraculous “Crossover books” (Crossover books are titles which work equally well for the late teen and adult crowds, although they may not be marketed to both groups). The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz has not yet found its true place in the crossover collection, but it is only a matter of time. This book is a hoot. A wacko family, a breezy mystery, an all-about-the-characters romp.

Think thoroughly modern girl-gumshoe – a little Bridgit Jones, a little Nancy Drew. Izzy Spellman, P.I., comes from a family of P.Is. In fact, she works for the family firm, Spellman Investigations. Nobody invades privacy like the Spellmans. Izzy is good at what she does. She cracks cases. She’s tough. She never gives up. She wants a date. She wants her parents to stop tailing her wherever she goes. Rae, Izzy’s little sister, is like Harriet the Spy, the extreme version. She is a “recreational surveillance” addict who keeps turning up at the local bar for Ginger Ales while she’s on the job. Add Izzy’s nutty parents, her hard-living uncle, perfect-lawyer brother, and an ever-growing list of ex-boyfriends and hilarity ensues.

Yes… this book is not so strong on plot. There’s enough here to hold it together, but come on, that’s not why we’re reading it. We’re reading it because when Izzy’s new boyfriend asks what she does for a living, she pretends she’s a teacher since it’s a whole lot safer than revealing the true weirdness of her family life. Then she decides she needs to “dress like a teacher” in order to keep her cover. Her new attire (mostly tweed) catches her family’s interest and so she must fly low on the radar:

“Defenestration became my coming-and-going method of choice, but it’s hard to say what is more suspicious: a sudden, drastic change in wardrobe or not using doors.”

Funny. Lutz’s book is full of great one-liners. It’s clever and at times, hilarious. The voice and the strange happenings remind me of David Sedaris’s stuff. I could imagine him writing this if he had grown up in a family of private investigators (a scary thought). The Spellman Files is the first in what will be a series, and there are whisperings of a film. Good news for all from 15-99!

For example: My dog Malcolm. Malcolm learns a new trick every summer. In the past, he has learned how to pirouette, sit up like a troll, and do the hokey-pokey (sort of). He is currently in the midst of mastering how to “Rambo” (aka crawl across the kitchen floor towards a piece of kibble. Don’t ask… I am not the trick-chooser).

I find that many of the most memorable cartoony animals in picture books are also charming because they have talent, and they crack us up. Here are some of my favs (Canadians first…):

I have just returned from Potter-Party Preparation Headquarters. The Harry Potter loot bags have been stuffed. The Harry Potter costumes have been pressed. The Harry Potter art work has been displayed. The Harry Potter curtains have been hemmed. The Harry Potter every-flavour beans have been purchased and sampled. The Harry Potter wands have been tested. The Harry Potter instruction manual has been written and revised. All we need now are the Harry Potter books. I have been humming the Harry Potter movie theme over and over and over for the past 10 hours. I hope to wake up tomorrow healthy and normal once more.

These pictures (courtesy of Mugglenet’s Photoshop Fun) were somehow just what I needed at the end of such an intense day.

Something to help all of us take HP7 a little less seriously. Before our favourites start biting the dust, have a laugh on them:

When I was a kid, there was always this point in my summer holiday, usually about the third or fourth week into July, when the full laziness of my situation would overwhelm me. It was about this time that my sister and I would start hating each other’s guts (having had enough of the pleasures of the Slip n’ Slide for another season), and I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. One way to shake myself out of this state was to take one complete day to sink down into a good mystery and read it cover-to-cover, only getting up from my nest to replenish snacks and lemonade. It always seemed that by the end of the book the reading had somehow sucked all of the laziness out of me, and I was ready to return to the real-world the next day, eager for more summer action.

Here is a list of effective mystery treatments (a rainy day is best for this sort of thing, and really, I find that the treatment works well at any time of the year):

If you haven’t read Michelle Paver’s Wolf Brother, I am jealous. Very jealous. It’s part ancient historical fiction, part adventure, with some fantastical elements woven in for good measure. The story is set in the Stone Age, in a world that is divided into clans, represented mostly by animals. Each clan has a particular gift that its members inherit, making them experts in a certain skill necessary for survival in their environment. The story opens with a young boy, Torak, witnessing the death of his father by a giant, otherworldly bear. As his father lies dying, he communicates to Torak that Torak is destined for an important task, a task that will save the forest and the clans from destruction. At the beginning of his journey, Torak stumbles across an orphaned wolf cub, and he wonders if this cub has some role to play in his mysterious destiny. There’s only one word for what comes next: wow.

Some of you are probably already saying, “No thanks. Giant bears possessed by spirits? Animal clans? A mysterious epic journey? Sounds a little too classic weirdo-fantasy for me.” Well just give it a try. Fantasy is not my #1 genre, but this book is too good to miss. Wolf Brother is the first in a series of what will be 6 titles (the 4th, Outcast, comes out in the fall). And if fantasy is really not your bag, you should read this book simply for its impressive power to immerse you in an ancient world. This believability did not just happen by accident. Michelle Paver devoted a great deal of time to researching the Stone Age – its housing, hunting methods and weaponry. Also, she researched more recent hunter-gatherer and indigenous cultures, traveling around the world to learn about their societies first hand. I mean, come on – how many authors go to Lapland to sleep on reindeer hides and learn about how to transport fire? I guess dining on elk-heart is what it takes to write a best-seller.

Michelle Paver has a website that’s worth a visit: Michelle Paver; and an official website for the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series: The Clan.

Now… I’ve saved the best for last. Sir Ian McKellan (of Gandalf fame) narrates the audiobooks for the series (and does a mighty fine job of it). As a specialsummertime treat, the Guardian is offeringa FREE podcast of Wolf Brother. They’re presenting it in episodes, and all of them are available at Wolf Brother Podcast.